Measuring nearly 1.7 metres high, Corpus was cast around 1650. Bernini made three versions of the sculpture, one of which was presumed destroyed during the French Revolution, another of which is held by the Spanish royal family. The bronze sculpture Frum bought recently was long thought to have been created by an anonymous French artist. However, about three years ago, after new scholarship and study into the piece, Corpus was finally attributed to Bernini and is believed to be the cast he made for his personal collection. An architect as well as a sculptor, Bernini also worked on Italian churches, most notably St Peter's Basilica, and designed a number of the popular fountains in Rome, including the Fountain of the Triton and the Fountain of the Bees. Frum pursued Corpus for the past couple of years and recently purchased it from a U.S. art dealer. "Corpus was immediately appealing because of the beauty and emotion of the subject," Frum, a longtime supporter of the gallery, said in a statement Thursday. "When we learned that it could be traced back to Bernini's own collection and was an object that he made for himself, it was clear we were in the presence of a unique work of art, a masterpiece that would be a highlight of any collection." In December, Frum decided to donate it to the AGO, to which he had previously donated a collection of African art.
Irish Art
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£50 Million Art Donation
Measuring nearly 1.7 metres high, Corpus was cast around 1650. Bernini made three versions of the sculpture, one of which was presumed destroyed during the French Revolution, another of which is held by the Spanish royal family. The bronze sculpture Frum bought recently was long thought to have been created by an anonymous French artist. However, about three years ago, after new scholarship and study into the piece, Corpus was finally attributed to Bernini and is believed to be the cast he made for his personal collection. An architect as well as a sculptor, Bernini also worked on Italian churches, most notably St Peter's Basilica, and designed a number of the popular fountains in Rome, including the Fountain of the Triton and the Fountain of the Bees. Frum pursued Corpus for the past couple of years and recently purchased it from a U.S. art dealer. "Corpus was immediately appealing because of the beauty and emotion of the subject," Frum, a longtime supporter of the gallery, said in a statement Thursday. "When we learned that it could be traced back to Bernini's own collection and was an object that he made for himself, it was clear we were in the presence of a unique work of art, a masterpiece that would be a highlight of any collection." In December, Frum decided to donate it to the AGO, to which he had previously donated a collection of African art.
Irish Art
